Banished From Time
by Takeru Mayakami
Summary: The son of a Time District Deity wants to live as a Human. His father arranges for him to be powerless in another Time District (dimension).
1. Banished From Home

While I, Isaac D'Kyoto, stirred to the morning sunlight two figures contemplated their approach:

"Honey, I couldn't bear to disturb him."

"You know I could just delay the sunrise."

"Yes, Do that. He won't recall that he was late to prepare for school if the school itself doesn't open on the regular time."

_Buzzz!Buzzz!Buzzz!_

My parents and I both started at the noise. I had kept this alarm clock hidden just in case a situation like this happened. Truth is I'm the son of a deity. Things are always taken care of with regards to my daily life. I haven't had to miss any classes because an excuse surfaced. I haven't had to worry about getting a rare sandwich at school; it was always luckily available. The cars never seem to block my way while I cross the streets. Things like this left me wanting of a regular human life where you worked to get what you wanted.

_Humans are so different. I would love to see it from their point of view. _

My interpersonal relationships with humans have always been tweaked to make it go smoothly for me. I also, whether for good or bad, never have to worry about being alone since a guardian life-secretary was assigned to be with me at all times. Her name is Miuka, and she also accompanies me to school where we are classmates due to a lack of chance. I feel that it might be better to have some time without all the divine intervention.

"I smell my favorite blackberry jam and toast. This is perfect as expected or imperfect as not expected." I say going down the stairs.

My mother says to me as we exit as I walk into the kitchen, "You know we're trying to help you out."

"Yeah, Thanks for that."

"Honey he seems angry with us." My mother speaks into the air. Father, as the deity of this time district, is able to hear all that request him and more so.

"No, obviously, you're not at fault. I erroneously believed that it would be good to go without divine intervention."

"We could talk about this in the evening. Some event just happened in another part of my time district."

"So eat up your favorite breakfast before you leave. You don't need to rush."

"Yeah, except it isn't normal to have it your way every morning." I motioned that Miuka should leave with me. We were late as it was.

...

We were running through the streets since no cars would cross us due to divine intervention. We were only late because of the parents in the first place. Miuka ran next to me as we went to school.

She could be regarded, as humans would call, an angel.

She was angry for some reason.

I disregarded it.

…

Again I was rescued by divine intervention. The gate guard while hurrying to close the agate reached a point where it mysteriously stuck. A few stragglers were helped out as well.

…

I reached my class and sat in my back row corner window seat. This was another of the divine interventions. Miuka sat promptly in the chair next to me.

Our homeroom teacher didn't notice us probably, "The next topic is to introduce a new student, Ms. Andhani. "

She was diagonally opposed to me.

"Hi my name is Ela, please be kind." She rose, smiled, and introduced herself.

_This feels weird._

I wasn't sure of this feeling that even my face felt red hot. I could also feel an ominous glare from the side that raised the temperature further.

She sat down and I could hear all the other students remark about how pretty she was.

A sudden thought ran through my mind: _I like her._

_Click!_

She suddenly looked back to me,

I instantly understand what happened. I'll have talk to that father of mine. For now, I'd have to make a quick excuse not to interact with her less my real chance be effected. I was avoiding her gaze until lunch. At that point, I saw most of our class created a three man deep barrier between us. Miuka and my closest human friend Ken stood next to my desk ready to go upstairs on the roof to eat. I wanted to do so as quick as possible giving Ela the slip.

"You can't even get close enough to have her hear you," Ken remarked while I noticed Ela moving against the waves of people toward our group. I needed to exit.

"Here follow me, I need to get something from my locker. "

Ignoring me, "Miuka you could get her to introduce us to our group."

"That's not going to happen."

I needed to decide quickly, so I told Miuka in a hushed voice "Miuka, keep Ken busy for a moment. I need to talk to father.

I ran to a place where I could have a private chat on the Deuce-line which connected my family together. Miuka was about to say something, but this was more important. So I disregarded it.

Shortly I was in the back of the school near the incinerator.

"I don't want to be given a relationship through your power. I'd earn it the normal human way."

I spoke to the air.

"You're sure that this is what you want. Life won't be easy for you. We won't give you the treatment as another deity."

"Yes I'm sure I want to achieve it on my own."

"Done."


	2. Missing Love

I found myself in my bed suddenly. I wasn't groggy but something felt different.

_It's too hot. _Wait it's supposed to be at this time that...

Something feels different: there're no parents to wake me. My alarm clock was buzzing now.

"See, I could handle this."

I spoke to the air. There was no response.

I prepared for the day. I ran down expecting to have breakfast ready, except it wasn't.

I could handle this.

I rummaged through the fridge. There was no blackberry jam.

I'll have to settle for buttered toast.

Lunch wasn't packed either. There was a note on the table: "I was busy. Make your lunch- big sis."

My elder sister usually didn't make lunch for me as it was so it puzzled me. I disregarded it.

I looked through my wallet for lunch funds which weren't there. I packed some loaves of bread and a tap-water-filled bottle.

I could handle this.

I started my run to school. This time, the difference was that there was no Miuka running beside me to scold me. She must have rushed out earlier.

I tried crossing the street but there was too much traffic.

I didn't make it.

I could handle this better starting tomorrow. I'm sure.

...

When I entered the class late there was Ela standing in front of the students. She didn't stop her introduction at my interruption. She seemed different.

I felt that this was, in fact, because father didn't interfere with her.

I looked where my usual table was, but it was taken. I looked foolish trying to figure out which seat was mine. Another thing was apparent: Miuka wasn't in the class. For some reason it bothered me.

...

Classes went by slowly. I'll take the chance to ask Ela to lunch. It was certainly a different situation since here weren't many students spending time talking to her without returning to their usual group. I went towards her and my pulse grew faster. I didn't ever feel this nervous talking to someone before.

_This is human._

I couldn't say it clearly but went and spoke to her stuttering: "Ela…if you want me to show you around school after lunch... Well, let's have lunch first... uh... upstairs in the usual place my friends eat."

"No, I have the coordinate layout in my PPC. So, it would be unnecessary. Also, students are to be back to class early before afternoon session begins. Don't be late."

I did a double take. She seemed more approachable the day before. I felt something new as I climbed up the stairs. This human feeling didn't feel very good.

I would have eaten my lunch in the usual place, but someone was already talking there. I heard them say something, "Alright we found another anti-unit. She's in Emit's class. There was also a straggler so it must be a unity unit like us. Emit you needed to get him to join. It should have been obvious."

I turned around and was about to close the door when another person bumped into me. "Ah you're a new unity."

The voices behind me quieted down for a second. "See Emit, Vicky found out right away."

"Look, I don't go out of my way to check on guys."

"That's not relevant," was the terse reply.

"Hamud, take my side."

"Even if you did check them out, we'll accept anybody that's an unity unit. Be on your toes, man."

"I feel marginalized here..." Emit whispered.

"That's not relevant," was the response.

"You're too cold," Emit protested.

"That's not relevant."

"Guys..."

"So we added another to our unity-unit. You're now in charge of recon."

"Hey!"

"Take him around the grounds."

"Hey... hey!" I exclaimed as I was lead by the guy referred to as Hamud.

"Don't worry about it. Susan gets like that all the time."

"I know this area well since I live here, so you don't have to reintroduce me."

"Hmm, that's interesting," Hamud said while leaving his grip on me. "We've all come from other places in the world to this self-closed district."

_I can't trust these people right away. I need more information._

I knew the answer to this but had to appear naive in case this was some inter-district rivalry, "Explain this district thing to me."

"Well there's a limit to how far you could go in a square-ish plot with the school in the center. You can't find a faster transport through the edge before the day ends. Every day you get reset to a healthy body no matter what happened to you the day before."

_This time-district's deity must have put a restriction._

"Explain the anti-units you mentioned before."

"They're the guards that we fight against."

"That makes the majority of the student body..."

"They're mostly robotic in what interaction they give."

I took a minute before asking the next question, "You also mentioned that you were transported here from your home country."

Hamud looked solemn, "We call this whole place purgatory school. It's because we had regrets in our past lives. The remembrance of those regrets, though, varies among individuals."

"I see," I felt another unpleasant human feeling.

"We believe we were given a chance to satisfy our souls in this district."

"You know that for a fact."

"Well, we have members who slowly regain the memories of their past life. Well we've had members join and leave mysteriously after a particularly emotional event. "

_That must be because of a restriction of their previous district's deity. _I kept this to myself.

I needed to change the tempo of this conversation. "So, that Susan person said you have an anti-unit in your class, and we're in the same class. You could tell me who it was."

"It's Ela. She's a proctor from the supposed deity that brought us here. We want to find the deity and have him answer the reason we suffered through our past life."

_The girl I fell for isn't here. Things weren't looking easy at all to handle. _


	3. Angelic Decision

_It's been three months since Isaac left this time-district._

This ran through my mind as I, Miuka, was still housekeeping at Isaac's family house. I took care of the other three members of the family: the father, mother, and older sister. There was no need for me to go to school since Isaac wasn't there to be looked over. I missed it slightly and I had plenty of free time left.

Ken was kind enough to drop by to hang out occasionally, but he had forgotten about Isaac's existence. It left me with a bittersweet taste. Today was an example of that type of instance.

"It's too bad you decided to drop out," Ken started while we sat at the living room coffee table. "The school is having a winter festival this year. Our class is doing an international fashion pageant."

"Tell me if you need any extra models or clothes. There's a person I know who could put together a range of exotic apparel at any time," I offered since the time-d father could wield his power for any given purpose.

"Sure, that would be great."

"Isaac would've..."

"Isaac?"

"No never mind that," I brushed away the question. A certain loneliness instilled itself within me when I remembered the three of us together.

We talked for a little bit longer before Ken had to leave. I was left preparing dinner.

I knew I could ask the father to bring Isaac but that goes against Isaac's desire and I had to respect his decision. Fortunately, as a life-secretary, you could ask any request that would be a single want of yours. I'd known that Isaac didn't want to be a deity but I'd try to make him change his mind.

On the deuce line, "you'd be limited unlike a full deity. Unlike Isaac, you won't have your memories from this time-district."

"That's what I want. I know I could find him and bring him back. We're definitely connected like that. At least, that's what I feel."

"Done."


	4. The Meeting of Two Who Have Fallen

I, Isaac d'Kyoto, wasn't taking everything I heard at face value. The first assumption was the daily travel limit.

Susan told me the day before, "you could test it out, but you'd be missing a day."

So, after I found that there weren't any airplanes in this time-district, the fastest way was by car to a train station. I telephoned a cab service to get me there since I wanted to waste as little time during the day. After I called, I walked to the pickup point so that I could avoid backtracking with the car. I made it there and waited for five minutes until the small Ford Escort, painted in a pastel red, drove up to me. The window rolled down. It was a woman in her twenties with sunglasses.

"You've called Angelic Transit, right."

"Yes, that's right."

She took off her glasses and clipped them to the shade flaps. In doing so I caught a glimpse of her name tag: Miuka Kuroki.

Riding in an Escort for Angelic Transit, this was a giveaway. She looked like a more mature Miuka-from-my-time with longer rather than shoulder-length cut hair. Most telling,in addition, was that since Names in all time-districts are very important and essential things, there was no doubt.

"Miuka!" I said doubling back. I was wasting more time than I wanted, but this was more important.

"You should treat your elders with more respect. You know," she chided.

"You don't know who I am then," I returned.

"Nope, you're a new face here from what I could tell. You probably expect that you're going to get away from this place, but it's the same for every-person."

"Wait, so you know that and you're still driving people around."

"Yea it's productive at least,. I don't know what exactly is going on except that there are people out there like me except that some have memories of the time they lived before. I too feel that it is different here than at the place where I came from. There's really nothing I could do about it though unless I find the supernatural power controlling this place. However, I feel that I have a need to be here. Maybe things weren't going well in the other place. So I stay."

_She must have asked to be transported here. _

_She followed me here._

I was touched by her friendship.

After some hesitation, "I want to know why you're here even though you were freed from the burden of looking after me."

"Don't kid yourself. I don't look after people, and I do my own thing independently. I doubt my past self would choose you over somebody who looked better."

"Just take me as far as you could."

"You think you could afford that. I don't know who you think you are."

_I don't have the Deuce-line to ask for funds anymore._

I checked my wallet.

_Cheapo Father didn't leave me what I had in there when I left._

"You're going to have to figure a way to pay me first."

"I'll have to keep our date on a rain check."

"Well, good day to you then. I'll be off."


	5. Isaac and The Unity Group

I, Isaac d'Kyoto, made the walk back to the house where I began each morning. My older sister was sitting in front of the television wearing uncharacteristically baggy clothing. She must be another version since my true sister is a deity who maintains her memories and powers singularly in my home time-district. Her name was also spelled differently from the sign in front of her room. I also noticed that we were the only two of our family living here. Apparently this time-district's versions of my parents were permanently unavailable due to their jobs, conveniently outside of the time-district's limits.

"Grab some cold-cuts from the fridge for dinner and make us wraps for dinner."

"You still have the bossy trait it seems."

"You say something."

I sighed, "I'll get to it in an hour after I finish my homework."

_For now I have to treat this place as my world._ I should do things right if the unity units were flawed in their attempt to find this time-district's deity. It might take a while before any success takes place.

During the time I was doing homework, I assessed the situation. First was what relation this time-district's sister had with the time-district. This time-district must have her as what Susan calls "filler units." They don't have a particularly active roll other than what is needed to this time-district. They have completely been in this Time district and hasn't had prior life experiences. Other than having the same appearance this time-district's version of my sister had no relation to my true Time-district's sister.

I took the time to take a break and feed this "beta sister." I quickly made some wraps. I handed her the finished product.

While eating, I went through my day's school notes. There was more emphasis on science and math rather than history in this time district. It must be due to the small scale and closed limits.

I took a bite of my wrap and my doorbell rang. It was the four from the unity-unit group.

"Good evening, guys"

We sat down in my room and closed the door.

Susan spoke first, "So, tell us how far you got."

"The farthest I've gone was into a field of wheat maybe 150 miles from the dorms. There's not much happening out there. The most important places are centered and clustered near the school." Hamud spoke now.

"So, tell us how far you got," Victoria gestured.

I recalled this morning and decided to keep Miuka's existence a secret.

I made something up on the spot, "You see I heard enough stories from other unity -units so I decided to use my time catching up on some homework as you could see. I decided to take another route in a metaphorical sense."

"So in essence, you've come to our side."

"I haven't decided it yet. I feel like I have something to accomplish first before I tackle the person in charge here."

"You care to expand on that," Emit seemed keen on learning more from me.

I should be careful about how I say this, "Let me put it this way: I have some recollection of what I wanted in a past sense."

Emit went quiet after that.

"We get cases like yours," Susan responded. "So the main question is if you're going to be looking for that emotional event or if you're going to find the truth."

_This is frustrating since I know the basic mechanism with which time-districts function._

I played along since they seemed more interesting to be with than the filler units, "I'm going with you."

"I knew you'd see it our way," Susan said in a matter of fact way. "We'll have a briefing tomorrow for our team. Be at the book-club room."

"I'll follow along but I won't skip class."


	6. Change of Personality

As I, Isaac D'Kyoto, laid out my conditions for cooperation, I went to class the next day. Ela was there clearly taking down all notes spoken by the filler teacher. I knew the other filler students went through the motions of attentiveness but even they had some "programmed" sighs and bouts of apathy. Ela was more serious than the others so perhaps anti units had different codes in, it also may mean there was hope that she could regain and show a kind of realness to her person. It made getting her attention that much difficult because I would have to find out what this time-district's reasons for keeping her personality from showing since she was an anti-unit.

I was going to see if I could face her directly and get to the center of the anti-units.

I found her admonishing a tardy filler-unit. I started to speak and release the kid from meaningless scolding, "Hello... Ms. Andhani."

She continued, "...and so, you should always sit at the front of your seat with proper posture to be aware of everything the teacher says."

I felt another alien feeling: discouragement. I tried again, "Ms. Andhani, let me get a moment."

"Yes I noticed you," She said without emotion.

The unlucky kid slipped away at this.

"Let's talk about this time-district's deity," I continued.

"So you kept part of your past."

"I might have it slightly different."

"Our team makes sure that everybody in this time-district lives a productive and self contained life. Our mission isn't something we hide from your types."

"I hear you."

"Good, so we're clear and clearly on opposite sides."

"I knew you before this time-district."

"Don't think we'd be the same person."

She had the same name, so she should have the same essence. I decided that she had to be returned to her previous personality before I could figure out if she was even close to be as attractive as I found her first.


	7. Emit

I, Emit Mazzinopolis, am a time-district guider. As guiders, we monitor that causality between time-districts is maintained. The people we answer to compose the world government.

My current objective is to see that the transfer of a time-district deity's son went smoothly. He seems to have maintained a higher status than ordinary transfers and is referred to as an unity-unit. With his knowledge he may be able to find out about his father's relation to this time-district's deity. There's always the chance that he could be adverse to his position as a pawn used in a deal to ensure the ambition of this time-district's deity stays at bay.

For now, I'm with Susan's group pretending to search for this time-district's deity. As a guider, I take no sides in this scuffle. So, I sat in the book-club's assigned room with the rest of the unity-units.

Susan was going on with her pep talk, "... and because we maintain that the life we have in this world doesn't compensate for the injury we faced in the past, we must find the person and make him answer our questions. If needed we'll battle the anti-units until they give out the information we need."

_They're pretty much the same as you, Susan._

"They have exhibited behavior that possesses no threat to us so far. So we shouldn't exactly be hostile against them." was the newcomer Isaac's addition.

"We've already tested out the ability sufficiently about the ability for us to restart each day the same regardless of what happens to our bodies the day before. Also, it's not like we haven't combated anti-units," was the response given by Victoria.

"We've used all kinds of techniques to combat them including hand-to-hand, swords, and guns. They have been rarely wounded and they quickly regenerate," came Hamud's details.

"Yes, so you should all take extra steps to improve your strength, endurance, aim, agility, adb technique."

The rest of the meeting included separating the group into squads, naming the squad leaders, and developing a plan for tomorrow's attempt to break into an anti-unit's dorm room. It was risky and I wasn't in the squad making the break. I had to be part of the decoy group, which bothered me because even if we get reset each day, death is still painful.


	8. Miuka's Unease

I, Miuka Kuroki, remembered the interaction I had yesterday with a strange kid saying he knew me in a past life. I brushed him off but part of me tells me to trust and support him. It seemed so illogical and unnatural to me that I felt that way.

So, I've decided to follow up on this since I'd have nothing to do in the evening during my time off. He'll be at the school most likely. Before that I had to do my morning run.

I walked out of my apartment in the district north of the school. It was a fairly small area that I could take the walk to the school in an hour's time. I saved enough to live in a fairly upscale street. There was construction across the street so I would have to go to the side street a block away to pick my car.

My first assignment this morning was from the west side of town. It was a certain teacher whose car broke down. We were to bring her to the school.

I arrived at the pick-up location. I didn't see anybody there, so I parked my car on the street corner and waited. It was about ten minutes when I got out of my car and munched on my chocolate bar. I looked around expecting the teacher to show up soon. I noticed a person leaning against a tree on the other side of the street just out of view from my height.

"Hey, you're the person who called for a ride."

"Ah! I didn't notice you there." The teacher exclaimed from the other side.

"I'm really sorry for being out of view."

"Don't worry," he began. "It's mutual."

We began the ride to the school. The teacher didn't speak the entire trip.

I was getting annoyed for some reason. It shouldn't bother me at this point dealing with the complacent townspeople.

This must be some reaction to the possibility of learning more about me. I didn't expect to be so affected by knowing that perhaps the reason of my dissatisfaction may be solved if I talk to Isaac. I was apprehensive now. Maybe, I should go out with some coworkers for lunch to pass time instead. However, that wouldn't alleviate need to know.

I picked out some chocolate to eat while I waited at the entrance of the school.


	9. Isaac's First

Susan was pointing to a plan of the school projected behind her. We were in the literature club's space commandeered by our units. There must be about twenty group members attending. The others weren't as active so they'd be put up to date by the squad leaders among the twenty.

The slides were changed and the pictures of the anti units were posted.

"Here are the enemies that you're familiar with. Each has an on-campus dorm. We've monitored their daily routes. During their time spent outside the dorms they don't speak to anybody. That is unless it is to chastise another student."

She paused for a moment. "Isaac and Hamud, take lead of two teams. The first, lead by Isaac, will be a surrounding unit. The second, lead by Hamud, will be a diversion team. We want to split the two before they could share their reports with one another. Then we'll corner each and wait for them to ask for back-up. Our objective here is to see how they communicate with the guy in charge here."

From my own experience, they don't need physical devices. However, there are other ways of doing things.

"You say we have to corner the anti-units, but they have some fire-power at their disposal," I heard a member speak out.

"We have an underground factory if you wanted to know. There's a bunch of unity-units that prepare our equipment. We'll make sure you all are prepared," Susan answered.

This was before the operation.

…

Things didn't go as planned. After the pep talk, we took up our posts waiting for the intersections of the two anti unit paths.

The anti units were quicker than expected and took out most of the secondary diversion team. Then, a third anti unit joined. Quicker than expected, my surrounding team was out classed by two of them.

On the retreat, I was distracted when I glanced out from the school grounds. Muika was there. In that moment, I felt the heat of the anti-unit's laser hitting my back.


	10. Miuka's Path

I, Miuka, saw him and then the light hit him. He fell down smoking. Then he disappeared.

"Isaac! Don't leave me again!" I screamed as I ran up to him.

_What did you do that for?_

Wait, I remembered everything from the other time district. I can't believe it too took this long. I knew I would remember. Now I had to wait until tomorrow before I see him again.

…

There were a couple of coughs than Susan spoke, "you awake there"

I, Isaac D'Kyoto, didn't respond. Then in s softer voice like she was takn to somebe else, "he should be awae by now right."

The other girl, probably Victoria announced i"we're entering okay!"

"wait !" was all that I could reply beofr the curtains were opened.

She was holding a fresh set of clothes.

"You might reset but your clothes won't."

I looked around and saw some medical equipment. I hadn't been here in my Time District since father made sure we never got sick.

"If you were curious, we're in the town's infirmary which is jus outside of school grounds. Everybody gets reset here after they… have an accident."

" Your sister called about you."

"I'm not worried about it."

"We have a meeting after lunch today aout what we're going to do next. Get dressed quickly, and eat this lunch we brought for you. So, thank us with dinner sometime."

Susan made a quick pivot and walked out the room.

"She acts like that but she was really worried about you." Victoria trotted out the room.

Left by myself, I've gathered that there was infact a reset mechanism. This Time District's diety seemed stange.

It was around noon now, so I set out to finishe the homebade lunch Susan and Victoris made for me. I sat a

"You could go back to our old Time District since you got it out of your system. Be your father's successor. "

"I'm being selfish here but I'll stick to it. I'll live a normal life and get to learning if I could start a true relationship with an untainted version of Ela."

"It doesn't change even after wha you've experienced." Miuka said softly. She coughed and then said louder, "Well, I'll help you out regardless."


End file.
